POLISH rail infrastructure company Polskie Linie Kolejowe SA officially started operation on October 1. A wholly-owned subsidiary of the Polish State Railways holding company PKP SA, PLK will be responsible for managing the rail network, although the assets will still belong to PKP. PLK will be headed by PKP’s former Infrastructure Director Kazimierz Jachimek (p741).
PKP has agreed to join an initiative to create a local company to operate regional passenger services around Poznan, which would otherwise be threatened with closure. Owned by PKP and the local authorities, Regionalna Kolej Pasazerska Ltd would run trains in five regions: Dolnoslaskie (Wroclaw), Kujawsko-Pomorskie (Bydgoszcz), Lubuskie (Zielona Góra), Wielkopolskie (Poznan) and Zachodnio-Pomorskie (Szczecin).
PKP has also agreed to transfer, free of charge, several narrow-gauge lines to local authorities, including infrastructure and rolling stock. This is designed to ensure continued or revived operation:
